Jason Robertson's impact reaches far beyond the scope of a hockey rink

Less than 24 hours after scoring the game-winning goal in Dallas' 5-4 overtime victory against the Blackhawks to close out the season, Jason Robertson found himself enjoying a quiet meal at a Greek restaurant a few minutes down the road from the team's Comerica Center practice facility in Frisco.

The 21-year-old rookie has lived a relatively anonymous life ever since the Stars selected him with the 39th overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, and even after making the team out of training camp back in January.
But that's starting to change in North Texas.
Even with the stringent COVID-19 protocols the players adhered to all season, Robertson has gone on with his life in Dallas undetected until now.
"As a matter of fact, today was the first time," Robertson says with a smile, still somewhat shocked about the encounter.
Sporting a ballcap, T-shirt and zip-up hoodie, it's understandable how the laid-back Southern California native could go unnoticed in and around town.
"I never met the lady," he continues, "but she noticed me, came up to me and said, 'Good game last night, unfortunate about the year,' and I was like, 'Thank you. I didn't know you knew who I was.' Then she said I had a great season and I thought, 'That's very nice of you.' I come to find out she's a season-ticket holder."
With the way his rookie season went, there's a lot more of that to come. He finished the 2020-21 campaign with 45 points (17 goals, 28 assists) -- the second-most recorded by a rookie in Stars history, trailing only Jussi Jokinen's mark of 55 points (17 goals, 38 assists) in 81 games from the 2005-06 season. Robertson's feat came in just 51 appearances.

With his two-point performance in Monday's overtime victory, Robertson concluded the season with 12 multi-point games -- the most by a rookie in franchise history. Among the league's top rookies, Robertson leads in assists and ranks second in goals and points. Even more, Robertson logged a nine-game point streak from April 13-27, marking the longest streak ever recorded by a Stars rookie. He racked up 13 points (four goals, nine assists) over that span, which also happened to be the longest recorded by any rookie this season. Furthermore, he became the first rookie to earn points in at least nine-straight since 2017-18 (Clayton Keller -- 10 games).
Stars coach Rick Bowness said Robertson's improvement from training camp to the end of the season is astonishing.
"If you go back to January in training camp, he didn't have a good camp when we put him with our top players," explained Bowness in his end-of-season debrief with members of the media. "He just wasn't ready for that. He's got to be the most improved player in the league. His improvement from [where he was] in January to where he is now, there's absolutely no comparison. His competitive nature has improved, his intensity has improved, his play without the puck has improved. We'll keep working on that with him.
"Offensively, the more he plays, the more confidence he gains, and that's going to continue to get better. I just think you're seeing the tip of the iceberg with Jason. There's huge upside."

Robertson's skill on the ice is evident, but his personality and drive, Bowness said, is second to none.
"He's a great kid," Bowness said with a proud smile. "He's a hockey player. He loves the game. He loves playing the game. He loves to practice. He loves everything about it, and you've got to love that about him. He'll keep getting better and keep pushing himself."
Robertson's story is worth telling.
He comes from Arcadia, California, nestled roughly 13 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles and approximately 10-12 minutes from Pasadena -- home of the world-famous Tournament of Roses Parade, an iconic New Year's Day tradition. Robertson is half Filipino, his mom, Mercedes, born in Manila, but coming to LA as a three-year-old. Some might say the fact he's Filipino American doesn't mean anything regarding the sport of hockey, but that's simply not the case.
When Robertson made his NHL debut last season on Feb. 13, 2020, he became just the third player of Filipino descent to be play in the NHL (behind Tim Stapleton and Matt Dumba) and only the second Filipino American to play in the league after Stapleton -- a Forest Park, Illinois native. On a broader scope, Robertson is one of 31 players with Asian heritage in NHL history to have skated in at least one game since 1947-48 (the first known player of Asian descent to play in an NHL game was the late Larry Kwong on March 13, 1948 when he debuted with the New York Rangers). This group has a combined 6,400-plus games played, more than 1,000 goals, 1,500-plus assists, 2,500-plus points and includes three goalies with more than 100 wins.

Despite being among a very small collection of Asian players to have played in the NHL over the past 73 years, times are changing for the better.
This season, nine players with Asian and South Asian roots suited up for a game, including Robertson, his younger brother, Nick of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Dumba of the Minnesota Wild, Kailer Yamamoto of the Edmonton Oilers, Nick Suzuki of the Montreal Canadiens, and brothers Kiefer and Kole Sherwood of the Colorado Avalanche and Columbus Blue Jackets, respectively. Oilers forward Jujhar Khaira is the NHL's only player of Indian descent, while New Jersey Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler, who was born in Zurich, is half Thai.
Simply put, Robertson is a role model for people from all different backgrounds. He knows it, and he understands its impact.
"It's an honor to be someone that anyone can look up to," he said. "It's nice to be a role model for Asian Americans and Filipinos, but I just want to be a role model for everyone. Whatever background they come from or wherever it is they're from. I'm from California and eventually moved to Michigan. You don't expect a lot of NHL players coming out of California, so it's a neat story that some people certainly can relate with."
To make life as easy as possible for Jason and his two brothers, including the eldest, Michael, who all played travel hockey as kids, the family purchased an RV to keep everyone under one roof as one kid skated and the others finished schoolwork. Eventually, the family moved to Michigan in 2010 to further Jason's hockey career. Looking back on it, the move paid off. Jason went on to play with Kingston and Niagara of the Ontario Hockey League for parts of four years before he turned pro with the Stars organization.

Nick followed in his footsteps when he was selected with the 53rd overall pick in the 2019 draft by Toronto and made his NHL debut with the Leafs in Game 1 of the best-of-five Stanley Cup Qualifiers against Columbus on Aug. 2, 2020.
"To have my little brother and I be able to do that together is neat," Robertson said of playing in the NHL at the same time. "Unfortunately with COVID, we're limited in what we can do together, but now Nick has had a couple games in the NHL and I'm here with the Stars.
"It's great to see a lot of young people of all backgrounds -- anyone, really -- look up to us and say, 'Wow they did it, so I can try it, too.'"

Robertson said he didn't have any role models growing up, but credits his parents, Hugh and Mercedes, for being a rock-solid emotional support system.
"We're so close and tight-knit, I wouldn't call them role models," Robertson said. "There wasn't anyone I really looked up to other than my dad with how hard he's worked and my mom for how much she's sacrificed, giving me lessons growing up. A lot of my life growing up involved my family, so I didn't really look up to anyone. We always had each other. We pushed each other. I had favorite players growing up, but I wouldn't say they were role models."

It's true, Robertson still hasn't adjusted to his newfound recognition around town. It's also apparent he hasn't acclimated to the weather in Dallas yet. But the fact of the matter is, folks from Southern California simply aren't built for the extremes in temperatures that exist everywhere else.
"It's way more humid," he said, comparing his new home to his hometown. "There's no ocean breeze. There's snow. [There was one week of snow… - someone says off-camera]. Okay, a week of snow. It never gets into the negatives in Southern California. It was minus-10 Fahrenheit one time here in Dallas. That's brutal."
When the weather keeps him indoors, Robertson stays busy.
"I play a lot of video games," he admitted. "I play hockey, not just as a job, but as a hobby."
Singing, too, is something of interest for the man.
"I like classic rock, country music and pretty much everything," he said. "I can't play an instrument, but I can sing. Def Leppard and Pink Floyd are some of my favorites."
Perhaps some carpool karaoke could be in the works if Tyler Seguin is up for the task.
"I've been driving him home the last few road trips back to his place after the plane, and I get 10 minutes with him each time," Seguin said recently. "It's been fun picking his brain and seeing how much he's developed already, not just on the ice but off the ice, as well. He's going to be a heck of a hockey player. His future is obviously very bright."

There's a lot to like about Robertson, not only for what he's done on the ice but the impact he's making on others. He's more than just a hockey player skating for your favorite team. He's a role model for the future stars of this sport.
Only time will tell what kind of legacy players like Robertson will leave behind. But for now, he's doing what he can to make a difference.
"It's a heartwarming story because it's a couple kids coming from a different background," he said. "Not even being Asian, really, but just coming from California where for a while you didn't really hear about players coming from there. I don't think being Asian is something other kids need to really focus on because we're just hockey players. We're not anything special. Nick and I worked hard to get to where we are now. It's more about a hard-working story.
"You can go wherever you want to go. It's not even just for the Asian community. It's for anyone. That's something Nick and I talked about recently in interviews. We talked about how it's a pretty neat story what we've done and what our parents and our little sister and brother have sacrificed in order for us to get to where we are. For Nick and me especially, we're just really glad to repay those sacrifices and show them all the work they've done and the support they've given us has paid off."
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Kyle Shohara is the Digital Manager for DallasStars.com and writes about the Stars/NHL. Follow him on Twitter @kyleshohara.